12/10/2011 Posted On: 12/11/2011 By: Unknown Info: 4-wheel drive trail is packed snow and passable without a problem to 1.5 miles in. After that it‘s a whole new story, near the trail-head the snow is DEEP. I got my truck stuck and had to dig it out. Advise that if you take the 4-wheel drive trail, stop about 1.5 miles there‘s a parking spot or two there. | ||||
8/8/2011 Posted On: 8/23/2011 By: Slow Moving Fun Seeker Info: Made it all the way to the upper trailhead in an Outback wagon (an older one with 15" tires). The last quarter mile or so took some thought and careful steering, but did not bottom out. Going down took patience and finesse with the brake pedal, but no real problems. The creek crossing was no problem. The last 200 yards or so has enough exposed/protruding rock that the road merits a 4WD rating in my opinion. | ||||
7/16/2011 Posted On: 7/18/2011 By: p_bucknam Info: 4X4 road is in excellent shape. One minor stream crossing that was about 9" deep. Many high-peaked berms will likely cause longer wheelbase and passenger cars to bottom out. It was obvious that a road grader cleaned-up the road this spring. Many of the big rock obstacles near the end have been cleared. Only the last 200 yards still has rocks that‘ll take out your oil pan. But with careful tire placement, I was able to get my Ford Escape all the way to the end. On busy weekends, expect that the trailhead to be full; there‘s only room for maybe 6 cars to park between the trees. Many more parking options are about 100 yards down the road. | ||||
7/4/2011 Posted On: 7/18/2011 By: sanchomurphy1 Info: Road is very accessible and should no longer be considered 4WD. I drove our Honda Fit 3/4 of the way to the trailhead and any vehicle with average clearance should have no problem. There is only one water crossing of substance a couple of inches deep to worry about just short of the 4WD TH. There are now multiple pulloffs for those with concerns. | ||||
5/21/2011 Posted On: 5/22/2011 By: Barb4rian Info: The 4WD road is clear of snow until about 2/3 of a mile from the actual TH. At worst the road is a little muddy until this point. If you have a high clearance 4WD vehicle go ahead and drive until you can‘t drive anymore. It will save you much of the road walk out on the return! | ||||
4/30/2011 Posted On: 5/2/2011 By: alpenglow80 Info: Drove 1 mile up 4wd road with ~3" fresh snow in a Tundra. All had melted in the afternoon when I came down. Not too much further from where I parked, the snow on the road gets deeper and a fallen tree blocks access. | ||||
4/23/2011 Posted On: 4/23/2011 By: tmathews Info: Road up to the TH was dry this morning, slushy/snowpacked this afternoon. I drove up the dirt road for I think .3 mile this morning, but decided to park back at the TH because of a Winter Storm Warning. Good thing I did. The dirt road was snowpacked on our way out. Probably a good 5-6" fell through the day with more on the way tonight and tomorrow. | ||||
1/29/2011 Posted On: 1/29/2011 By: hollamby Info: Plowed road to the lower TH as normal. FYI for anyone that doesn‘t know, the 4wd trailhead is/has been closed till spring | ||||
11/27/2010 Posted On: 11/28/2010 By: mountainjam Info: Easily drove a Toyota Tundra about 1.2 miles up the 4WD road. After that, there was an SUV that got stuck trying to turn around before the road got worse (at about 1.3 miles). There is a nice pull-off parking spot for 3 vehicles just after 1.2 miles, I would recommend parking there as the snow got heavier after that point. | ||||
11/20/2010 Posted On: 11/20/2010 By: hollamby Info: Went to the top of the 4wd TH. Light amount of snow. There are several tricky sections. Was in a F150 with muds on it, wouldn‘t recommend this one for lower clearance 4wd‘s because of the two bad spots. You can drive up it and find parking spots along the way if the spots are to rough though. | ||||
11/13/2010 Posted On: 11/14/2010 By: mikefromcraig Info: The ranger said this was the only trailhead you could get to this time of year. Plus, it‘s the only path up elbert that people use in november so you‘d never find the trails on the other ones. At the 4wd trailhead there was a range rover and one of those small toyota trucks with the stock 4wd "TRD" set-up. I easily got my 2011 forester all the way to the creek that‘s about 1/8 mile away from the 4wd trailhead (the only creek on the 4wd trail) and didn‘t want to risk going over the creek so I parked at the spot right there. | ||||
11/7/2010 Posted On: 11/7/2010 By: Dying2Live Info: As of this morning, 4WD vehicles can make it all the way up the trail. However, this is probably going to change being there is days of snow in the forecast this week in Leadville. | ||||
8/10/2010 Posted On: 8/10/2010 By: BillMiddlebrook Info: This spring was tough on the 4WD road. 1.5 miles up, just before the stream crossing, there‘s a rough patch that will stop most vehicles. There‘s parking in several pull-offs below this point. Attached is a photo of the area in question and the stream crossing right after it. | ||||
6/19/2010 Posted On: 6/21/2010 By: TooLoose_ToTrek Info: Runoff has calmed down, the stream is back in bed. There is some road damage just prior to the stream at about 1.5 miles. With an adequate vehicle and judicious driving, the road is passable the top. | ||||
6/7/2010 Posted On: 6/9/2010 By: awillson Info: The road is washed out and impassible at the stream crossing. The stream bed has been diverted and is flowing down the road for about 100 feet. |
